This is the month when my computer broke. I called the Geek Squad twice a day to check on it. They started to humor me with status updates about my poor baby. Apparently, it was infected with malware and adware. When I told the Squad what brand of virus protection I had, Mr. Geek laughed. He actually laughed and then sobered and apologized. The software I had was bringing in more bad stuff than it was defending.

I felt like I hadn't buckled my baby in properly before a drive. I have all my files backed up twice (in the Carbonite cloud and in an external hard drive) but it wasn't about lost data. I have a relationship with my laptop that I rely on, not unlike Stockholm syndrome. I put my laptop through a lot of trauma, and it still loves me.

I was without a working computer for a total of two long weeks. My house has never been cleaner. My brain was confuddled and I found myself trailing off in the middle of sentences and becoming irritated for no reason. My daughter made my computer a Get Well card. The desperation was mounting.

When it was finally repaired, I was ecstatic.

In celebration, I sent off a round of queries for Shadowgrove, the manuscript I was editing all summer based on very kind and detailed feedback given to me by an awesome agent.

While I waited for the responses, my plan was to make another editing pass on the the sequel to Shadowgrove. I wrote the sequel last year for NaNoWriMo. My goal for September was to edit it with a fine tooth comb. (Picture my computer wearing a wig and me combing it.)

My computer has better hair than I do.

I got many requests for the manuscript. It's weird to walk around and know a literary agent might be reading your words at that moment. Weirder still to think they might be judging it.

But the outcome was good, my friend. Very good. So good, in fact, that I will save it for another time. Because good news should be drawn out, yes? Dangled.